| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| pianissimo | adjective | Very soft; — a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev. pp.) |
| pianoforte | adjective | A well-known musical instrument somewhat resembling the harpsichord, and consisting of a series of wires of graduated length, thickness, and tension, struck by hammers moved by keys. |
| pianograph | noun | A form of melodiograph applied to a piano. |
| picaresque | adjective | Applied to that class of literature in which the principal personage is the Spanish picaro, meaning a rascal, a knave, a rogue, an adventurer. |
| picayunish | adjective | Petty; paltry; mean; as, a picayunish business. |
| piccadilly | noun | A high, stiff collar for the neck; also, a hem or band about the skirt of a garment, — worn by men in the 17th century. |
| piccalilli | noun | A pickle of various vegetables with pungent species, — originally made in the East Indies. |
| pichiciago | noun | A small, burrowing, South American edentate (Chlamyphorus truncatus), allied to the armadillos. The shell is attached only along the back. |
| piciformes | noun pl. | A group of birds including the woodpeckers, toucans, barbets, colies, kingfishes, hornbills, and some other related groups. |
| pickaninny | noun | A small child; especially, a negro or mulatto infant. |
| pickedness | noun | The state of being sharpened; pointedness., Fineness; spruceness; smartness. |
| pickeering | present participle & vb. noun | of Pickeer |
| pick-fault | noun | One who seeks out faults. |
| pickpocket | noun | One who steals purses or other articles from pockets. |
| picnicking | present participle & vb. noun | of Picnic |
| picrotoxin | noun | A bitter white crystalline substance found in the cocculus indicus. It is a peculiar poisonous neurotic and intoxicant, and consists of a mixture of several neutral substances. |
| pictograph | noun | A picture or hieroglyph representing and expressing an idea. |
| pictorical | adjective | Pictorial. |
| picturable | adjective | Capable of being pictured, or represented by a picture. |
| picturized | imp. & past participle | of Picturize |
| pierceable | adjective | That may be pierced. |
| piezometer | noun | An instrument for measuring the compressibility of liquids., A gauge connected with a water main to show the pressure at that point. |
| pigeonfoot | noun | The dove’s-foot geranium (Geranium molle). |
| pigeonhole | noun | A small compartment in a desk or case for the keeping of letters, documents, etc.; — so called from the resemblance of a row of them to the compartments in a dovecote., To place in the pigeonhole of a case or cabinet; hence, to put away; to lay aside indefinitely; as, to pigeonhole a letter or a report. |
| pigeontoed | adjective | Having the toes turned in. |
| pig-headed | adjective | Having a head like a pig; hence, figuratively: stupidity obstinate; perverse; stubborn. |
| pigmentary | adjective | Of or pertaining to pigments; furnished with pigments. |
| pigmentous | adjective | Pigmental. |
| pigwidgeon | noun | A cant word for anything petty or small. It is used by Drayton as the name of a fairy. |
| pilastered | adjective | Furnished with pilasters. |
| pilorhizae | plural | of Pileorhiza |
| pileorhiza | noun | A cap of cells which covers the growing extremity of a root; a rootcap. |
| pilgrimage | noun | The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life., A tedious and wearisome time. |
| pilgrimize | verb i. | To wander as a pilgrim; to go on a pilgrimage. |
| piliferous | adjective | Bearing a single slender bristle, or hair., Beset with hairs. |
| piligerous | adjective | Bearing hair; covered with hair or down; piliferous. |
| pillorying | present participle & vb. noun | of Pillory |
| pillowcase | noun | A removable case or covering for a pillow, usually of white linen or cotton cloth. |
| pia cloth | A fine material for ladies’ shawls, scarfs, handkerchiefs, etc., made from the fiber of the pineapple leaf, and perhaps from other fibrous tropical leaves. It is delicate, soft, and transparent, with a slight tinge of pale yellow. | |
| pinakothek | noun | Pinacotheca. |
| pinchingly | adverb | In a pinching way. |
| pinchpenny | noun | A miserly person. |
| pincushion | noun | A small cushion, in which pins may be stuck for use. |
| pindarical | adjective | Pindaric. |
| pinenchyma | noun | Tabular parenchyma, a form of cellular tissue in which the cells are broad and flat, as in some kinds of epidermis. |
| pinfeather | noun | A feather not fully developed; esp., a rudimentary feather just emerging through the skin. |
| pinguicula | noun | See Butterwort. |
| pinguitude | noun | Fatness; a growing fat; obesity. |
| pink stern | See Chebacco, and 1st Pink. | |
| pinnacling | present participle & vb. noun | of Pinnacle |
| pinnatifid | adjective | Divided in a pinnate manner, with the divisions not reaching to the midrib. |
| pinnatiped | adjective | Having the toes bordered by membranes; fin-footed, as certain birds., Any bird which has the toes bordered by membranes. |
| pinnigrada | noun pl. | Same as Pinnipedia. |
| pinnigrade | noun | An animal of the seal tribe, moving by short feet that serve as paddles. |
| pinnipedes | noun pl. | Same as Steganopodes. |
| pinnipedia | noun pl. | A suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals including the seals and walruses; — opposed to Fissipedia. |
| pinnothere | noun | A crab of the genus pinnotheres. See Oyster crab, under Oyster. |
| pinnulated | adjective | Having pinnules. |
| pin-tailed | adjective | Having a tapered tail, with the middle feathers longest; — said of birds. |
| pioneering | present participle & vb. noun | of Pioneer |
| pipal tree | Same as Peepul tree. | |
| pipe layer | One who lays conducting pipes in the ground, as for water, gas, etc., A politician who works in secret; — in this sense, usually written as one word. | |
| pipelaying | Alt. of Pipe laying | |
| piperidine | noun | An oily liquid alkaloid, C5H11N, having a hot, peppery, ammoniacal odor. It is related to pyridine, and is obtained by the decomposition of piperine. |
| piperylene | noun | A hydrocarbon obtained by decomposition of certain piperidine derivatives. |
| pipsissewa | noun | A low evergreen plant (Chimaphila umbellata), with narrow, wedge-lanceolate leaves, and an umbel of pretty nodding fragrant blossoms. It has been used in nephritic diseases. Called also prince’s pine. |
| pirouetted | imp. & past participle | of Pirouette |
| pistillate | adjective | Having a pistil or pistils; — usually said of flowers having pistils but no stamens. |
| pistillida | plural | of Pistillidium |
| pistillody | noun | The metamorphosis of other organs into pistils. |
| pitch-dark | adjective | Dark as a pitch; pitch-black. |
| pitcherful | noun | The quantity a pitcher will hold. |
| pitchiness | noun | Blackness, as of pitch; darkness. |
| pitchstone | noun | An igneous rock of semiglassy nature, having a luster like pitch. |
| pitfalling | adjective | Entrapping; insnaring. |
| pityriasis | noun | A superficial affection of the skin, characterized by irregular patches of thin scales which are shed in branlike particles. |